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| Raising a glass to singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb on his 80th birthday with a 1971 performance and a more recent interview. |
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Happy 80th birthday Jimmy Webb!
Steve Briggs' Summer Sundays w/ Ed Smith @ Artful Dodger, August 16
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| Singer/guitarist Ed Smith returns to the Artful Dodger as special guest of Steve Briggs and crew on Sunday from 4 pm to 7 pm. |
LINKS
Watch a clip of Ed Smith singing a Patsy Cline fave with Steve Briggs right here
GBV's Robert Pollard and crew sneak out "The Loser" as U.S. Rip Van Winkle
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| Hmm... let's see... who could Bob be singing about in "The Loser"? Any guesses? Have a listen below. |
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| In related news, Cash Rivers & The Sinners new album High Flyin' UFOs is available for pre-order from Rockathon right here. |
Friday, August 14, 2026
R.I.P. Chicago soul great Ruby Andrews, 1947-2026
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| Sadly, soul singer Ruby Andrews of "Casanova" fame has passed away at the age of 79. She'll be greatly missed. |
Grievous Angels w/ Charlie Angus hit Hamilton's Corktown Pub on Saturday
One For The Weekend: Tom Waits
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| Check out the animated lyric video for "The Fly," a new Tom Waits spoken word piece about a common house fly. |
Three hours of unissued Tubby Hayes surfaces on Unexpected Pleasure set
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| The limited-edition 3CD box set An Unexpected Pleasure boasts 36 tracks of previously unreleased Tubby Hayes recordings from 1958-1972. |
Here's the scoop...
UK jazz has only one 'Little Giant'; tenor saxophonist, vibraphonist, flautist, composer, arranger, leader of a sequence of pace-setting and dynamic quartets, quintets and big bands, and overall force for the music, Tubby Hayes.
Jazz In Britain’s first ever ‘boxset’ album – out today, August 14 – is beautifully presented with three CDs in individual sleeves and an expansive booklet, with many previously unseen photos, in a clamshell box. All the music is previously unissued and spans Tubby Hayes’ work across the period 1958 to 1972. There are 36 tracks in all, totalling over 3 hours of music!
Comprised entirely of PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED material, taped in both live and studio settings, this new Jazz in Britain release presents Hayes over no fewer than ten different settings recorded between 1958 and 1972, charting the peak years of his career, ranging from the fabled Jazz Couriers co-led with fellow tenor titan Ronnie Scott, through his poll-winning early sixties quintet with trumpeter Jimmy Deuchar, on to quartets featuring two of his very own drum 'discoveries' - Tony Levin and Spike Wells - and finally to his all-star big band. Documenting Hayes' meteoric progress from local wunderkind to international jazz star, this collection also includes rare European radio performances, taped in Germany and Norway.
These sessions include several Hayes' compositions not heard anywhere else in his extant discography alongside exciting new versions of classic themes long familiar to his fan-base; 'Modes and Blues,' '100% Proof', 'Grits, Beans and Greens' and 'Trenton Place.'
The leader is heard on all three of his instrumental choices and among his featured sidemen are trumpeters Eddie Blair and Leon Calvert, trombonist Keith Christie, pianists Terry Shannon and Mick Pyne, bassists Jeff Clyne and Ron Mathewson and drummers Bill Eyden and Allan Ganley.
Meticulously prepared from high quality tape sources and packaged with rare photographs and memorabilia from the Hayes' archives, this release also contains an extensive booklet essay by award-winning saxophonist and writer Simon Spillett, author of 'The Long Shadow of the Little Giant: The Life, Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes'. An unexpected pleasure indeed!
Get a copy of An Unexpected Pleasure 3CD box and listen to a couple of clips via Bandcamp right here.
Tubby Hayes – An Unexpected Pleasure
1. Oasis 2. Whisper Not 3. Just One Of Those Things 4. For All We Know 5. For Minors Only 6. If This Isn't Love 7. The Song Is You 8. Round Midnight 9. Cherokee 10. Modes and Blues 11. As Close As You Are 12. Valves and Mallets 13. Spring Is Here 14. Fly Me To The Moon 15. The Trumpets Have It 16. The Syndicate 17. Blue Flues 18. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most 19. The Sweetest Sounds 20. Secret Love 21. 100% Proof 22. Alone Together 23. The Shadow Of Your Smile 24. Make Someone Happy 25. A Taste of Honey 26. Walkin' 27. 200% Proof (take 1) 28. Make Someone Happy 29. A Uttoxeter Idyll 30. Mainly for The Don 31. Here's That Rainy Day 32. Grits, Beans And Greens 33. Lady Celia 34. Trenton Place 35. An Unexpected Pleasure 36. Sienna Red
Remembering jazz singer Lorez Alexandria on her birthday
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| We're celebrating today with Lorez's classic 1978 version of "Baltimore Oriole" and a 1990 performance in Tokyo. |
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Rhett Miller (of The Old 97s), Country Flash @ The Horseshoe, August 16
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| The Old 97s frontman Rhett Miller returns to The 'Shoe for a solo show Sunday with Nichol Robertson's Country Flash opening! |
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| Advance tickets for Rhett Miller's solo show with Country Flash at The Horseshoe are $25 – get 'em right here. |
Remembering soul great Howard Tate on his birthday
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| Raising a glass to Howard Tate with a few classic single sides after a brilliant performance of "Ain't Nobody Home." |
Watch the HabibiSly video for "Dar Algajola"
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Remembering "Bakersfield Sound" pioneer Buck Owens on his birthday
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| Raising a glass to singer/songwriter Buck Owens with a short BBC doc and some TV performances with the Buckaroos. |
Whaddya mean you don't know the Milo Twins
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| Fans of brother harmony duos like the Louvins and Everlys should check out what the Milo Twins were puttin' down. |
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Cheater Slicks, Retail Simps, Thee Terrible Threes @ Monarch Tavern, August 11
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| Those house-wreckin' Cheater Slicks return to Toronto for a blowout with Thine Retail Simps & Thee Terrible Threes on Tuesday! |
Here's the scoop...
CHEATER SLICKS are back in Toronto to play the Monarch Tavern on August 11th!
Without a doubt, CHEATER SLICKS are among the most abrasive and confrontational band that “rock” music has yielded over the past four decades. Brutal, noisy, misanthropic, unfiltered and utterly delightful, they are legends of playing loud and taking no prisoners.
They’re out on the road with the ever elusive THINE RETAIL SIMPS, Montreal’s mischievous garage rock miscreants. Much indebted to the path carved by the likes of CHEATER SLICKS, THA SIMPS take no prisoners.
And newly added, we've got THEE TERRIBLE THREES, the self described "Toronto's Worst Garage Punk Unknowns." A band that's ready to remind you that the guitar was a weapon meant to be wielded on Spadina Avenue.
Advance tickets for The Cheater Slicks with Montreal's Retail Simps and Toronto's Thee Terrible Threes at The Monarch Tavern (12 Clinton St.) on Tuesday, August 11 (doors at 7 pm) are $30.73 and available via Dice right here.
Melissa Auf der Maur shows her 90s rock photos @ The AGO, Sept 2
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| Former Hole & Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur will be at the opening of her AGO exhibit on September 9th. |
Here's the scoop from the Art Gallery of Ontario
From acclaimed Canadian musician Melissa Auf der Maur comes a photographic love letter to the last analogue decade. As bass player for iconic ‘90s alternative rock bands Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, Auf der Maur toured the world, documenting life backstage, onstage, and in the crowd, amassing a personal archive of more than 10,000 images. These intimate photographs celebrate the independent spirit of the ‘90s, offering an insider's view of the decade before smartphones and digital recording. Presenting a selection of more than 200 photographs, the exhibition stands as a moving self-portrait of a young artist living through the ‘90s music scene, a time capsule of Generation X and a reference for future generations. The exhibition is co-curated by Sophie Hackett, AGO Curator of Photography and Jim Shedden, AGO Curator, Special Projects & Director, Publishing.
Writes Melissa...
"2026 is the year of unveiling and unearthing of my archives from the last analog decade (aka my music x soul activation).
"My 90s rock memoir, come photographs exhibit and book, come soundtrack, come MORE AKA SUBSTACK.
"I’m a pro-human, pro-analog, photographer, bass player, mother, believer - and in honor of this significant year of unveiling, I’ve created a new place where the stories can expand: never before told secrets, memories, photographs, journals, playlists, pilgrimages, conversations, and more yet to be discovered and found along the way.
"My ’90s Rock Photographs book and exhibit finally makes its way into the world this September, but *** only 220 images from my 15,000 photographic archives are included in the book / exhibit *** so as you can imagine, there is many more where that comes from.
"For those who wanna go deeper, come find me…
"For my NEW NEWSLETTER, head to the link: https://www.xmadmx.com/
"Grateful for the innate desire within to share, and for your willingness to witness out there,"
xMx
Melissa Auf der Maur: My ‘90s Rock Photographs is organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, and will be accompanied by a 240-page hardcover companion book by Melissa Auf der Maur, Sophie Hackett and Jim Shedden with contributions from Grace Elizabeth Hale, Kevin Moore, Ann Powers and Michael Stipe.
MY ‘90s ROCK PHOTOGRAPHS:
EXHIBITION OPENING AND PHOTO BOOK LAUNCH
Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at 6 pm to 9 pm
Walker Court, Art Gallery of Ontario
Free with general admission to the AGO
Following a hugely popular and sold-out visit to Toronto in March with her memoir Even the Good Girls Will Cry (Da Capo Press), artist and musician Melissa Auf der Maur returns to the AGO to open her exhibition, Melissa Auf der Maur: My ‘90s Rock Photographs, and launch her photography book.
Remarks begin at 7 pm, with the artist and curators in attendance. In order for your book to be signed, they must be purchased from the Shop (we may ask for proof of purchase). Photo books will be available for pre-order online, in-person at the exhibition satellite shop, and at the event in Walker Court. Purchase of a photo book does not guarantee access to the book signing. Book signing is on a first-come, first-served basis, with a dedicated lineup starting at 6 pm. Space will be limited.
For more info about the event, visit the AGO site right here. Watch Melissa's entertaining interview with Nardwuar and her chat with Billy Corgan below.
Monday, August 10, 2026
Happy Birthday Cyrille Aimée!
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| Cheers to jazz singer extraordinaire Cyrille Aimée on her birthday! We're celebrating with a few fab performances and more. |
Charanjit Singh's Synthesizing: Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat gets deluxe repackaging
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| Charanjit Singh's use of Roland TB-303 bass synth and TR-808 drum machine for his Synthesizing LP in 1982 was a foreshadow of acid house to come. |
Here's the scoop from Light In The Attic...
One of our most anticipated releases of the year, Charanjit Singh’s electronic masterpiece Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat, is out now!
Originally released in 1982 and unheard by the world for decades, Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat is now widely recognized as one of the most visionary electronic albums ever recorded. Long before Acid House had a name, and before pairing Roland drum machines and synths to create dance music became de rigueur, Charanjit Singh fused ancient Indian ragas with cutting-edge technology and created a sound that still feels impossibly futuristic today.
Released in cooperation with the Charanjit Singh Estate, this new edition features newly remastered audio by Johanz Westerman, beautifully restored original artwork and expanded gatefold and booklet (20 pages for the LP and 36 pages for the CD version) featuring unseen photos and liner notes from Discostan’s Arshia Fatima Haq & Jeremy Loudenback, plus Singh’s former manager, filmmaker and writer Rana Ghose, with gorgeous package layout and design by dnorsen_design.
The album is available on a Light in the Attic Exclusive edition pressed at Optimal on “Pearlescent Transcendent Future” color wax, as well as on 2xLP (color & black) and CD. LITA-Exclusive Ten Ragas merch, including Vinyl and CD T-Shirt bundles featuring very special artwork and design by Radha V & Saish Kotecha are available on our store right here.
Check out Charnjit Singh's Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat following an interview below.
Sunday, August 9, 2026
Happy Birthday saxophonist/arranger and producer Willie Henderson
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| Raising a glass to Windy City soul sound architect Willie Henderson with some of his memorable handiwork. |
LINKS
Blues Blast Willie Henderson interview (2018) by Tee Watts
Don Deal vs. Johnny Paycheck, Buck Owens, Hank Cochran
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| Many country artists have recorded Hank Cochran's jukebox classic "A-11" but Don Deal cut it first with Leon Russell on piano.. |
Saturday, August 8, 2026
Punk scene chronicler Legs McNeil tells his own sordid story in Resident Punk
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| Please Kill Me author Legs McNeil recounts his exploits in NYC during the first wave of punk in the 70s for his new memoir. |
RESIDENT PUNK
How I Smoked, Drank, and Stumbled My Way Through the '70s Punk Scene (and Beyond)
by Legs McNeil with Crispin Kott, foreword by Chris Stein of Blondie
Available everywhere from BenBella Books / Simon & Schuster on September 15, 2026
Part memoir and part cultural history, Resident Punk offers a no-holds-barred expose chronicling the iconic and unforgettable music scene that would become defined by bands like the Ramones, Blondie, Television, the Heartbreakers, and Talking Heads.
In 1975 at just 19 years old, Legs McNeil—alongside John Holmstrom and Ged Dunn—cofounded PUNK magazine. In doing so, they inadvertently chronicled the start of a movement. McNeil’s role in the whole thing? To be their resident punk, embodying the zeitgeist the magazine was looking to capture, often by getting f*cked up with musicians, artists, writers, and hangers-on . . . and sleeping with a different girl every day of the week.
Now, just in time for the 50th anniversary of PUNK magazine, Legs tells the stories behind the stories in a sleazy, star-studded adventure. The coauthor of Please Kill Me, Legs invites readers along for the ride as he tussles with musicians and artists, groupies and writers, Golden Age Hollywood film stars and legendary figures of ‘70s New York. Featuring untold stories about Joey Ramone, William S. Burroughs, Patti Smith, Alan Vega, Martin Rev, the Dictators, the Dead Boys, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and Poly Styrene, this book is an immersive look at the punk music scene as only a true insider can tell it.
What’s more, Legs shares the raw meat of his life, starting with his gritty suburban childhood, and the teenage wasteland years that put him on a path to punk. Join him as he steals David Bowie’s hubcaps, wrestles with Norman Mailer, and lives life on the edge, and wrestles his own demons—eventually setting in a small Pennsylvania town, where he’s very much still the Resident Punk.
About Legs McNeil...
Legs McNeil, the original punk, is the coauthor of the 2.5-million-copy global bestseller Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk (Grove Press, 1996), a book widely hailed as the Punk Bible. One of the cofounders of the seminal Punk magazine, which gave the movement its name and where he was known as the “resident punk,” Legs is a former editor at Spin and editor-in-chief of Nerve. He is also the coauthor of The Other Hollywood (Regan Books, 2005), cowrote I Slept With Joey Ramone with Mickey Leigh (Touchstone, 2010), and co-edited Dear Nobody (Sourcebooks, 2014).
Legs is a filmmaker, directing and narrating Pusherman: Frank Lucas & the True Story of American Gangster (MVD Entertainment, 2025), a documentary that examines the life and influence of a notorious drug kingpin. His next film, Johnny in Wonderland (MVD Entertainment, 2026) tells the true story of porn star John Holmes’s involvement in the 1981 Wonderland Murders.
One of the foremost chroniclers of the punk movement, Legs’s writing has long been the go-to for on-the-ground accounts of those heady years of New York and London in the late ’70s and early ’80s. He has appeared in innumerable documentaries exploring the punk years, on networks as diverse as the History Channel, Epix, and VH1. His journalism has appeared in the likes of Rolling Stone, Spin, New York Magazine, VICE, Details, High Times, AirMail, The Atavist, Cultured Mag, The Daily Beast, and many, many more.
For more info and a link to pre-order, visit the Simon & Schuster site right here. Watch a two-part Zoom interview with Legs McNeil conducted by Jeff Frumess below.
Check out the impressive blurbage...
“Legs McNeil revisits his hard-knock adolescence and run-ins with Lou Reed, the Ramones, and Talking Heads with a finely honed sense of mischief. Essential reading for anyone who came along too late for CBGB—or arrived on time but can’t quite recall what happened.”
—Graydon Carter, former editor of Vanity Fair and cofounder of Air Mail and Spy
“Having read this propulsive, gasp-inducing mosh pit of memories, I’m not 100% sure that 100% of Legs lived to tell this tale. But what’s left of him has written a knockout book.”
—Patton Oswalt, actor and comedian
“Legs is a true original and he was THERE, baby. Personally, I can never get enough of this . . .”
—John Taylor, Duran Duran
“Legs McNeil has made a profession out of inviting mockery. Few have been able to resist accepting, but among his admirers have been Sinead O’Connor, Norman Mailer, and a sexually disadvantaged elderly rich woman in the vicinity of Cheshire, Connecticut. I did love finding out about his childhood. Eddie Haskell (look him up) was a kindred soul. Obsequious ineptitude, with a suburban-swamp dash of surly, as survival tactic and comedy engine. The Legs is still standing. You have to salute him. Viva Legs!”
—Richard Hell, punk rock legend and poet
“Legs tells a story I remember well; through a haze of heroin and coke-soaked lenses told in utterances that stink of puke and stale beer, when Times Square was a real red-light district temple to vice and depravity and the Bowery had real ‘dive-bars.’ The music was as raw, violent, and dangerous as the streets. Literature came out of pulp paperbacks. Politics came out of Screw Magazine. And art came out of underground comix and fanzines. It was a time when we were all innocent before our fall from paradise.”
—Joe Coleman, artist
“Legs McNeil has always been the coolest guy in the room. He’s also a brilliant writer. Resident Punk is a heartfelt, hilarious, hell-bent journey through a downtown NYC that’s been lost forever. A fantastic memoir.”
—Elizabeth Hand, award-winning author of A Haunting on the Hill
“I’ve been way too busy making a living, but I finally finished Legs McNeil's stupid book. Now I know way more about him than I would ever care to, so thanks for that! Despite the trauma, I really enjoyed it. I still can’t believe Legs can form whole sentences, never mind put enough of them together to make a paragraph."
—Elaine Aaronson, comedy writer for The Larry Sanders Show
“Before there was punk, Legs McNeil was the prototype. When punk was a scene, he was the living embodiment. When punk was a genre, he was the chronicler. Now that punk is an American subculture, Legs is the Godfather, a pop culture superhero who tells his origin story so intimately that you can smell the warm beer. This punk Pilgrim’s Progress speeds by like a song by the Ramones, as stark as William S. Burrough’s Junky and more hilarious than Will by G. Gordon Liddy.”
—Burt Kearns, author of Marlon Brando: Hollywood Rebel and SHEMP!
“McNeil is an unstintingly entertaining guide who cultivates an improbably endearing sad-sack persona...Reliably diverting. Casually obscene. Frequently hilarious.”
—Kirkus Reviews
"Here, with co-author Crispin Kott, (McNeil) reminisces about punk’s early days when he was hanging out with the Ramones, Richard Hell, and Blondie, and frequenting Max’s Kansas City, the Mudd Club, and Andy Warhol’s The Factory. Compelling anecdotes are scattered throughout, including eyebrow-raising tales about David Bowie and Sinéad O’Connor. With a foreword by Blondie co-founder and guitarist Chris Stein, this is sad, profane, and funny."
—Booklist
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